Our Words Can Heal
I am part of the LGTBQ+ community. I have been my entire life. But I wasn’t courageous enough to join this brave community until I was 40 years old.
At 40, I was a virgin. I am still a virgin according to the heterosexual meaning of the word. When someone says they are a virgin, it has historically meant that they had never had sex with a person of the opposite sex. So in that case, I am still a virgin.
It’s 2021 and there are people in my life who still make fun of gay people. They make side comments and tease others who have close same-sex friendships. Maybe they don’t really believe the jokes they make, but they still make them.
For heterosexual persons, they have had it easy compared to those in the LGBTQ+ community. Sadly, many of them don’t have a clue how easy they’ve had it. Sure maybe they had to deal with peer pressure and the fallout from lying to their parents for their adolescent sexual behavior, but many will never put themselves in the shoes of those of us who are not heterosexual. They may never choose to be curious about what it is like to be teased, bullied, harassed, judged and even worse, killed for who they are and who they choose to love.
When I was growing up in the church, there was a scripture that was often quoted: You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Matthew 7:15-20 (paraphrased).
My prayer is that each of us can have grace for one another, no matter who we are or who we choose to love. God, please wake each of us up and show us how to love one another. We need one another and we need to realize the impact our words, actions and behaviors have on us and those around us.
I leave you with Proverbs 12:18:
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
May we bring healing to this world by bringing healing through our words. We have the ability to bring healing to our partners, spouses, children, friends, co-workers, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and even strangers by simply speaking words that bring healing.
